A Time of Thanks
by SeneticLurve
Summary: Gaara and Lee spend Thanksgiving together.


Swaying violently he took another swig from the large sake bottle, emptying it completely. "Damn!" He ran into things, punching, kicking, and completely destroying everything he came in contact with. "Normal people have a choice!" BAM! "Normal people have friends!" BANG! "Normal people are cared for!" WHACK! "Why!" His vision got blurry and he fell to the ground, too dizzy to stand any more. "Why?" He curled up and started crying. "Why? Why, why...?" He passed out in the middle of the ruined street.

Gaara's destruction sounded throughout the street. Only one person was crave enough to look outside to find out what happened.

Lee poked his sleepy head out his bedroom window after the noise subsided. "G-Gaara!" He gasped, surprised. He jumped out his window and ran over to where Gaara was lying unconscious on the ground. He noticed the broken sake bottle next to him. "Oh my god. Gaara-san, wake up!"

"Nngh... ee?" The response was quiet and weak.

"What?" Lee's tears started to form little salty pools on Gaara's face.

"Lee...?" Gaara tried to sit up but was so dizzy he collapsed back onto the ground. Lee sat Gaara up and supported him so he wouldn't fall again.

"L-Lee, I..." He started but was cut off as he threw up everywhere. "God! Aargh!"

"Shh. Calm down. Here, come with me." Lee picked Gaara up and carried him back down the street. Gaara was unhealthily light. Lee could feel his fragile bones as he walked. He looked down at the sad, pale face. Why would Gaara do something like this?

Lee took Gaara up to his room, took out some clothes and proceeded to the bathroom. He carefully removed Gaara's shirt. He filled the sink with warm water and soap. Using a face cloth that he dipped in the water, he began cleaning the wounds all over his stomach, formed from the thrashing. Gaara cringed every time the face cloth touched his body, drifting in and out of consciousness.

When all the wounds were cleaned Lee unfolded the clothes he had brought in the bathroom and dressed Gaara. Even though Gaara was unconscious and drunk, he still looked cute in Lee's pajamas, a large white tee shirt and light blue pants that looked as though they were twice the size of Gaara's clothes. Lee carried Gaara back into his bedroom and lay him down in his large bed, covering him with a massive red blanket. Lee didn't leave right away however. He wanted to make sure Gaara would be all right so he stayed and sat on the side of the bed and watched him. His frail figure seemed nonexistent, almost drowning in Lee's bed.

After a few hours Lee proceeded downstairs and into the living room to the phone. He picked it up and dialed. It only rang once before it was picked up and a stern, female voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Temari?"

"Yes, and who is this?"

"This is Rock Lee. Gaara is here. I found him last night. He was drunk and then he passed out so I brought him back here. He's sleeping right now and I thought you'd be worried so I called."

"Thank you but I am no longer concerned about where he is for Gaara is no longer allowed here."

"What, but why?"

"That is none of your business, now good bye." She hung up the phone. Lee was dumbfounded. Temari was constantly watching him. Why doesn't she want anything to do with him all of a sudden? He turned to leave the room when he was faced with an icy, aquamarine stare.

"Gaara..."

"Lee."

"You're finally awake? That's good. How are you feeling? Are you hungry? I was just about to make breakfast. Would you like something?"

"No. Thank you for helping me but I have to leave now."

"Leave? But you're still healing and you still look a little sick. Where will you go?" Gaara took a bit to answer.

"...Home... I'm going to go change and then I will leave. I can intrude on you no longer. Goodbye." He walked out of the room.

"W-wait, Gaara-san..."

"What?"

"Please stay."

"I can't."

"Well... okay, fine. But always know that you can come back any time to stay as long as you want. If anything happens please come here. Please remember this."

"...I will. Thank you."

Gaara must have dressed pretty quickly because when he went upstairs he was gone and his clothes were neatly folded on his already made bed. 'Gaara..." Lee thought sadly. 'How can he go home if he's not allowed back? Does he not know?"

"Lee, I'm back!" A loud voice boomed through the house.

"Gai Sensei, you're back!" Lee ran down the stairs and jumped into his sensei's arms. "How did the mission go?"

"Fantastic. And of course we succeeded." Gai, Kakashi, and three other jounin had been sent on a mission about a week ago to protect Suna, the village hidden in the sand who had become Konoha's latest ally. "There must have been at least a hundred, no a thousand sound nins from Oto who attacked the village but we stood strong. We protected that country with our lives. Kakashi got knocked out and was about to get killed when I stepped in just at the right time."

"Wow. Gai Sensei you are so cool!"

"Yes. So enough about me. How was your week?"

"It was great, well, except for the fact that Sakura-chan said no again..." Lee hung his head in disappointment.

"Ah love, so youthful yet, so hard. Don't worry Lee, you'll find the perfect person one day." Gai went into the nice guy pose. Lee looked up at him with a bright smile.

"Thank you Gai Sensei. You are right." Gai's face turned serious all of a sudden.

"There's something I want to ask you Lee." Lee's face turned serious too.

"Yes Sensei?"

"What happened to the street outside? It looks like a tornado hit here."

"Oh, that. Umm well... Someone was drunk and was smashing everything. There was a lot of noise and he did a lot of damage..."

"He? You saw who it was?" Lee knew his sensei wouldn'e approve but he couldn't hide the truth from him forever. What if Gaara did end up coming back?

"Gaara..." Lee mumbled.

"Gaara?"

"Yes, it was Gaara." Lee started talking really fast. "Gaara was drunk and then he passed out. He went unconscious and I brought him back here and he spent the night but then he left a little while ago."

"Gaara was in this house?" Gai's voice was very serious.

"Yes. But then I called Temari and she said that he wasn't allowed back home. Then I felt bad and he left. He told me he was going home but I knew he wasn't allowed back so I told him to come back if something ever happened and... Gai Sensei, I'm scared." He started crying again. "I don't want anything to happen to him." Gai's face softened and he pulled Lee into a tight hug.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm sure he'll be fine. Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll go home and everything will be fine again."

"You really think everything will be fine Sensei?" Lee sniffed.

"Of course." Gai gave Lee a big smile.

"Thank you Sensei. Your words have inspired me. I'm going to go train."

Later that night Lee came home. He was very tired and he fell asleep almost instantly, completely forgetting about Gaara.

When he woke the next morning he took a shower and headed down to the kitchen where the smell of eggs and bacon greeted him warmly. "Oh wow Sensei. This looks great!" Gai smiled as Lee sat down and started shoveling food in his mouth.

"Heh. Don't forget to breath now." Le put on a serious face and saluted his sensei. Gai laughed and started eating also. "It's been a while since we've trained together. How about we train together today?" Lee swallowed a huge mouthful.

"That sounds great Sensei!"

"Wonderful!"

They headed out after breakfast to their usual training spot. They trained together all day. Finally after they were both completely worn out they went back home. "Now Lee, there will be no training tomorrow. It's Thanksgiving and I think we both need a break."

"And we're going to eat so much we won't be able to move anyway!" Lee and Gai both laughed.

"Alright. Now go get some sleep."

"Yes Sensei. I will. Have a good night."

"You too Lee."

Lee didn't wake until noon the next day. They had trained so hard yesterday he was just wiped. Instead of his usual shower he took a long, hot, relaxing bath. He was so comfortable that he fell asleep again. He must have slept for a long time because when we woke up his skin was wrinkly and the water was freezing. Shivering violently, he stepped out and wrapped himself in a large, warm towel. He went into his room and put his clothes on. He checked the clock as he crushed his hair. 'Wow. It's already four. I should go down and see Gai Sensei.'

Lee went downstairs to meet his sensei. Gai was setting the table as the smell of roasted turkey wafted into the dining room. "Sensei, that smells really good." Gai turned around.

"Lee, you made it." He laughed.

"Yes Sensei. I can't wait to eat."

"Sit down and I'll bring the food out in a minute." Lee sat down in one of the chairs and waited eagerly. Gai came out and put the turkey on the table and followed right after with the corn, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Lee took a large helping of the turkey and spooned some other things onto his plate. Suddenly he remembered Gaara and how skinny he was and felt guilty that he wasn't eating like this right now. Gai noticed Lee's sudden change in attitude and frowned.

"What's wrong Lee?"

"It's Gaara..."

"I told you not to worry. I'm sure he's fine."

"But Sensei, what if he's not okay? What if something happened to him? What if he didn't go back home...?" They both looked at the door as they heard a faint knocking. Lee got up to go answer it, confused. He opened the door and gasped. "Gaara!" Gaara was thinner than ever. It looked like he hadn't eaten at all since he left.

"Who is it Lee?"

"I- it's Gaara."

"Lee..." Gaara's voice was very shaky. He burst into tears as Lee pulled him into a big hug. "Lee I..."

"Shh. Come inside." Lee walked Gaara inside as he shut the door. He brought him over to the table and sat him down. Gai watched as a look of concern spread over his face. "Gaara, what happened?" Gaara stayed silent as more tears rolled down his face. "Have you eaten at all since you left?" Gaara shook his head. "Here, eat." Lee passed his plate to Gaara. "Eat, then we'll get you washed up and into some clean clothes, okay?" Gaara ate slowly, never looking Lee straight in the eye. He felt guilty about intruding on their evening but knew he had to eat. He hadn't eaten in four days and he could barely function. Lee never took his eyes off Gaara. He was afraid that something would happen at any moment. Gaara never spoke and when he finished eating he pushed his plate back and quietly thanked them.

"I'm really sorry about intruding on you guys like this." He looked at the ground.

"Nonsense." Gaara looked at Lee. He continued. "You didn't disturb anything. I told you to come back any time. We're glad you came back." Gaara looked at Gai who hadn't said anything at all and even though he was smiling, still looked mildly confused. "Gai Sensei, please excuse us."

"Of course Lee. Don't worry I understand." He smiled and gave Lee a big thumbs up. Lee smiled back at him as he stood up.

"Let's go upstairs Gaara." Gaara stood up and pushed his chair in slowly. He followed as Lee went up the stairs. He walked into Lee's room. Lee was rummaging around in his dresser and pulled out some clothes. Lee then lead the way to the bathroom. Gaara followed silently. Lee started the shower. "There's shampoo and soap already in there and I put a towel on the sink for you for when you get out." He indicated the towel with his hands. "You can change into these clothes when you get out, okay?" He smiled.

"A-are you sure this is all okay?" Gaara played with his hands.

"Of course it is. Now stop worrying about it and clean up. I'll wait for you in my room." He walked back into his room and changed into his own pajamas. He sat down on the bed and waited for Gaara. About ten minutes later the door opened and Gaara stepped out, wearing Lee's pajamas. They were the same ones he wore last time. Lee smiled at him. Gaara looked at Lee's smiling face and blushed, a shy smile sneaking it's way onto his own face. He walked over to Lee. Lee observed Gaara. He looked so much healthier now that he was clean. Gaara sat down next to Lee as he was pulled into a hug, the blush spreading even farther.

"Gaara." Lee's silky voice melted him. "I'm so glad you're okay. But please, I need to know... What happened?" Gaara clung to Lee's shirt and frowned. "Please Gaara. I know it must be hard but I have to know. What happened that was so bad that you aren't allowed to go back home?"

"I tried to kill them..." He could feel Lee's body stiffen and knew he shouldn't have said anything.

"You tried to kill them? But why?" Lee hugged Gaara tighter, frowning.

"Kankuro was making me really angry. He taunts me because he knows it gets me angry. I just snapped and tried to kill him. Then Temari got involved and I ended up trying to kill her too. I finally managed to gain control and stop myself. The house was wrecked and they were both hurt very badly. Kankuro was actually unconscious. Temari started yelling and swearing at me. She finally told me to leave and never come back to that house again. I left and found a bottle of sake in the middle of the street outside. I was in so much pain, I couldn't stand it. Drinking felt really good. It got rid of all the pain so I kept doing it. You know what happened after that..." Gaara looked up and saw that Lee was crying. He started crying himself and buried his face in Lee's shirt. "But I'm sorry. I regret everything I've ever done. I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish I'd never been born a monster!"

"Please stop." Gaara looked up into saddened, watery, onyx eyes. "You are not a monster. What's done is done and you can not change that. None of that matters any more for you are here now, and not there. You have a new family now. If anything ever happens you can tell me. I will not judge you or push you away no matter what you do. I do not hate you for what you are. You are special. You are unique. You just needed to find somewhere where you fit in and you have found it." He placed a hand on Gaara's cheek. "Gaara..."

"Lee... I just didn't want to interrupt your life. You seemed so happy before all this happened..."

"Gaara, I'm glad you came back. I was worried about you. Gaara I... I love you." Gaara blushed and his eyes shot wide open as Lee's lips pressed against his. 'Can this really be happening?' Lee broke the kiss. He looked at Gaara's surprised face and chuckled. "You're so cute when you blush Gaara-kun. Happy Thanksgiving." He pressed his lips against Gaara's again. This was the best Thanksgiving either of them ever had.


End file.
